ANGELIKI DIMITRIADI In 2015 860,000 persons entered the country. Of those only 13,197 filled an asylum claim28. Greece, traditionally a transit country for asylum seekers (Dimitriadi, 2013; Dimitriadi, 2016b), had a new asylum system but limited capacity. It was woefully unprepared for a large volume of asylum applications, and lacked staff on the islands. Asylum applications have increased since January 2016, an expected effect of the on and off border closure of the Western Balkan route, but they remained at a monthly rate of around 1000 persons. In March 2016 and a few days following the announcement of the Statement, roughly 3,000 persons applied for asylum, the overwhelming proportion of these on the islands, with many others having indicated a willingness to apply29. Syrians made up a significant portion of applicants, as to be expected, but Afghans, Iranians and Iraqis and other nationalities from sub-Saharan Africa were represented in the applications as well. This time asylum was linked with the efforts to avoid change – another form of migrant agency. Change in this case would mean return under the EU-Turkey Statement for all persons irrespective of nationality. The migrants resisted the new policy that the EU had asked Greece to implement. By launching an asylum application, they bought time and thus far it has been a successful strategy. The Committees processing asylum claims had found in most cases the application admissible, which means it will be processed in Greece. Those who have expressed intent to apply, but have been unable to do so due to the limited personal of the asylum service must also remain in Greece until the process is completed. Thus, the low figure of returns to Turkey appears to be based on two elements: the hesitancy of the Greek authorities to return non-Syrian rejected or inadmissible asylum seekers to Turkey (as it is not considered safe for non-Syrians) and the migrants utilizing the asylum system as a way of preventing change, i.e. return to Turkey. Simultaneously, if the idea of asylum in Greece was directly related to that of strandedness, now it has acquired multiple representations: on the one hand the desire to remain stranded in the country rather than to be deported to Turkey; on the other hand, asylum signifies hope that the claim will be accepted and the individual will be allowed to leave the island for the mainland. As this is one of the two ways (see above) to leave the islands, asylum is the far better option. Yet, the migrants I spoke to on the island, released from the hotspot but with their applications pending, all expressed a desire, if offered protection, to use the papers to reach northern Greece and then to transit to other EU member states. «No one wants to stay here. Nothing for us», as a refugee from Syria said; «If they give me papers I will go to Thessaloniki, you know the city? Yes, that’s why I applied, so I can leave. You cannot leave without one» (Lesvos, July 2016) x 28 Greek Ministry of Interior, Asylum Service Statistical Data 2015, http://asylo.gov.gr/ en/?page_id=370. 29 UNHCR ran a pre-registration program in the summer of 2016 in an effort to assist the Greek asylum service. – 90 –